A MOTHER diagnosed with a serious heart condition is hoping her story will inspire donations and support for vital research.

Lisa Savage from Weymouth was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome in 2012, an inherited condition which has been passed on two her two young daughters, Ellie, seven and Amelie, five.

In May 2012 Lisa suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

It was during her recovery she was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome.

Following Lisa’s diagnosis her two children underwent genetic testing amongst other tests and both were diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome.

Lisa said it came as a “massive shock” that she had passed the gene on to her daughters.

She said: “The condition was passed on to me through my father’s side.

“After my diagnosis I was assigned a nurse who is funded by the British Heart Foundation.

“She has been absolutely fantastic from day one. She is really supportive.

“There are lots of drugs that we can’t take because of the condition but she is always on-hand to help me out with any queries, even on her days off she gets back to me.

“My hope is that the research the British Heart Foundation do will find a safer way to protect us from this condition.

“The girls take beta blockers but the condition is worrying.

“We have type two of the condition which is linked to emotion. My grandad died of a cardiac arrest but it was brought on by the emotion of laughing.”

If you have potassium channel Long QT Syndrome, you carry the risk of sudden death if you are startled or awoken suddenly.

If you have sodium channel LQTS, you have an increased risk of sudden death whilst sleeping.

Speaking about how she became a famous face of the British Heart Foundation, Lisa said: “The foundation was asking for people to tell their stories and that is how I originally got involved. And from that there were things of Facebook, press releases, I was also in Best Magazine. I just thought it would be great to do all I could to help.”

Lisa is originally from Weymouth and moved back in 2013 and is now living on Portland, Lisa’s husband Matthew has bravely signed up to participant in the 2017 London marathon to raise money for another heart charity to support his wife and children.